Classic Christmas Pudding

A Traditional British Steamed Holiday Dessert That Would Make Dickens Proud

This vegan version of the classic Christmas Pudding keeps all the coziness, fragrance, and old-world charm of the original—but without the animal products (typically chicken’s eggs and lard, which is rendered pig fat). It’s rich, delicious, and quintessentially British (and Christmas).

Christmas Pudding with Maple Syrup Glaze

Because our Christmas Dinner theme this year is Victorian-inspired, I’ve been testing Christmas puddings for weeks, and I’m really proud of where I’ve landed. I even brought this one to a neighborhood gathering, and everyone raved about it!

Christmas Pudding—also known as Plum Pudding, though it contains no plums (the word “plum” once meant dried fruit)—is one of the most iconic holiday desserts in the English-speaking world. And just to note: in the U.K., “pudding” refers to a steamed, cake-like dessert, not the creamy custard-style pudding familiar in the U.S. The closest American equivalent would be a fruitcake, though Christmas Pudding is steamed rather than baked and has a softer, richer texture.

What began in the Middle Ages as a humble porridge evolved over centuries into the rich, fruit-studded steamed pudding we know today. By the Victorian era, it was the star of the Christmas table. Dickens helped cement its place in the holiday imagination—his description in A Christmas Carol makes it feel almost inseparable from Christmas itself.

I hope you love this pudding as much as I do. If you give it a try, please let me know in the comments!

Ingredients

• 8–10 medium Medjool dates, pitted and chopped

• 1½ cups raisins

• 1 cup dried cranberries